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Right now I have the handles finished for the matched pair of 12 plait two tone bullwhips. I think this is the first matched pair that I’ve done that have patterns on both handles. I want the patterns to be the same, not just the same pattern, but having the patterns line up if you put the two whips side by side.

I know what you are thinking, if they are the same pattern they shouldn’t they automatically line up? Well yes they should, but there are a lot of factors that can alter the lengths of the patterns. Like stretch in the lace, slight variations in lace width, plaiting angle, etc.

So with that in mind, I plaited about 5 inches of one handle, then plaited the other handle to match that five inches…then continued the second whip handle to the end of the handle. After the second whip handle was finished I went back to the first and plaited it to the end of the handle.

Both of the handles patterns line up pretty well, I’m happy with how these have turned out. Also these don’t have a twist in the handle pattern like the last two tone that I made . With the previous one I worked one color around the handle weaving it through the other color. That’s what gave the pattern a slight twist. With these bullwhips I was working alternating colors and that really helped line them up!

When I decided to make these 12 plait bullwhips instead of 16 plait bullwhips, I was worried because the variety of patterns is less with a 12 plait than a 16 plait. While there’s nothing super crazy in these whip handle’s patterns, I’m happy with the bit of variety in them.

One thing I’ve noticed about my whip handles is that they pretty much always start and end in a checkerboard pattern. I’m not sure why I do that, but that’s how I do it right now.